Food, Gardening & Tree Group

We are the group working to reduce our dependence on the fossil-fuel intensive industrial food system and working towards re-invigorating the local environment so we can positively interact with ecology.

Our current projects and activities include:

• Abundance - collecting surplus fruit in the city and redistributing it where needed.  It's great fun, raises awareness of food waste and seasonality, and there are many skills to be learnt along the way.  See www.abundanceedinburgh.com for more details.
• Astley Ainsley Garden - the hospital has a therapy garden for patients to relax in.  We're initiating a project in partnership with the hospital to have a look at a part of this that has been neglected - to assess its potential for food growing and revitalization.
• The Royal Edinburgh Project. There is a new project underway in 2010 to transform 15 acres of land at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital into growing plots where local residents, community groups and patients can grow together. A Development Partnership Group has been convened by the Cyrenians, including TES, with the intention of directing effort, resources and the widespread enthusiasm for this project into establishing a health outcomes based Community Garden.
• Identifying and mapping local wild food sources – keen foragers can add to the public map at www.forage.rs
• Guerrilla gardening and garden sharing to transform neglected spaces in the city into vibrant locations for wildlife, growing food and the enjoyment of the public.
• Ongoing events raise awareness of local, seasonal and organic food sourcing and the requirements of biodiversity.

The group is building strong links with other local organisations including: Gardeners at Greyfriars Kirk, Sciennes Primary School, Edinburgh Community Backgreens Association and Artlink at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. There are new people joining in all the time and the gardening sessions are a powerful way of turning words into actions. If you would like to get involved please check the ‘Events’ tab to see what we are up to and drop us a line via the ‘Contact’ page.